ST DESIDERIUS, BISHOP OF CAHORS - 15 NOVEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 15th of November 

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST DESIDERIUS, BISHOP OF CAHORS

Saint Desiderius, (French: St Didier or Géry) Bishop of Cahors, was born around the year 580 in the district of Albi. He descended from an Old Gaulish family and was brought up with his two brothers Rusticus and Siagrius at the court of Clotar II. 

HIS HOLY CONDUCT

St Desiderius made great advances in the sciences, and yet, at the same time, his life at court was that of a strict religious. His holiness advanced as he chose the company of the following saintly men who also frequented the court, namely: Saints Arnulphus, Audoënus (Dado) and Eligius. 

Elected to succeed his brother Rusticus in the diocese of Cahors, he devoted himself with all his soul to his heavenly office. He worked tirelessly to eradicate vice. 

HE REMEMBERED THE POOR IN HIS WILL

His old age and his physical ailments finally reminded him of his approaching end. He made his will, in which he made his church his heir and recommended the maintenance of the poor to her, and died in the district of Albi on November 15, 654. His body was brought to Cahors and buried in the church of St Amandus.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858 - 📷 The Church of St Didier, Cantenac)